A Father's Misguided Protectionism in "Fences"

Summary: "Fences" by August Wilson is a story about a father, Troy, whose mistakes and experiences lead him to be overprotective of his son, Cory. Troy secretly is jealous of the opportunities that Cory gets.

Troy's decisions within this play are influenced by many factors that create his behavior. Fences was written by August Wilson in 1986. It portrays the story of a man that has been scarred by the prejudice he has suffered in his life. Ironically, the only way this character knows how to deal with his past experience destroys his son's opportunity to succeed in life. There is a major argument between Troy and his youngest son, Cory, that has to do with both Cory's future in football and, what Troy thinks the kid should do with his life. Through this discussion we can learn a great deal from Troy as one can find several factors that steer him to decide on his decision. Some of the "factors" that will be discussed in this essay include Troy's past experiences with baseball, his resentful attitude towards his son's chance to reach greatness...